Foot-actuated starter for automobiles



May 29, 1934. c. R. ROCHE FOOT ACTUATED STARTER FOR AUTOMOBILES FiledJune 25,

' INVENTOR.

67/770 F. Poe/7e I n I r Patented May 29, 1934 FOOT-ACTUATED STARTER FORAUTOMOBILES 9 Claims.

This invention relates to starting mechanism for starting automobileengines, and the invention is particularly applicable to an automobilein which the engine is mounted in the usual po- 5 sition just forward ofthe dash, but turned around so that the cranking end of the motor istoward the drivers seat, which is quite common in frontwheel drive cars.

The general object of the invention is to provide simple foot-actuatedmechanism for effecting a connection to the engine shaft and forrotating the same to start the engine. More specifically, the object ofthe invention is to provide a construction whereby when pressure isexerted upon the pedal, the initial pressure will effect the connectionto the engine shaft and the further movement will cause rotation of thepedal on its axis of rotation which will rotate the engine shaft.

A further object of the invention is to construct the device so that itwill be safe to operate as regards the possibility of the engine kickingback through the. pedal. In other words, one of the objects of theinvention is to construct the device so that it will free itselfautomatically from the engine shaft in case the engine does kick back inbeing rotated or cranked by the foot pedal. 7

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel parts and combinations of parts tobe described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce anefficient foot-actuated starter for automobiles.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the followingspecification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a longitudinal section taken through the forward portion ofan automobile and showing certain parts broken away and illustrating thecranking end of the engine shaft with contiguous parts.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken about on the line 2-2 of Figure 1and further illustrating details of the construction.

In practicing the invention I provide the rear end of the engine shaft 1with means for effecting a connection to it from a starting pedal. Inthe present instance I provide the rear end of the shaft with a clutch,the driven member 2 of which is rigidly secured to the shaft and thedriving member 3 of which is operated by the foot pedal 4. In additionto this, I provide means whereby the initial movement of the pedal 4will move the clutch member 3 forwardly to effect engagement with thedriven clutch member 2. Any suitable clutch device can be used at thispoint. In the present instance I have illustrated the common form ofone-way clutch having inclined teeth with abrupt shoulders 5 on theirdriving sides and inclined rear faces 6. This construction of clutchenables the engine shaft to free itself from the clutch when the enginestarts up and rotates faster than the driving clutch member 3.

In order to enable the pressure on the pedal 4 'to close the clutch androtate the engine shaft,

I prefer to mount the pedal l on a carriage 7, said carriage being inthe form of a casing in two parts, including a forward part having atubular neck 8 that is splined at 9 into a tubular housing 10 thatprojects out from the rear of the engine casing ll being formedintegrally with a cover plate 12 that is bolted to the rear end of theengine casing.

The rear end of the tubular neck or sleeve 8 is formed into a disk orcover plate 13 that is bolted to the forward flange of a rearwardlydisposed gear housing 14. The neck 8 carries the starting shaft 15, theforward end of which is rigidly secured to the driving clutch member 3.The rear end of this shaft 15 projects into the housing 14 and rigidlycarries a bevel gear 16 which is adapted to be driven by a pinion 17carried on the pedal shaft 18. The pedal shaft is mounted in a tubularhousing 19 which operates as a bearing and provides means for carrying acoil spring 20, one end 21 of which is secured in the housing and theother end of which exerts its force against a stop arm 22 which isformed integrally with the pedal 4. This spring 20 normally holds thepedal 4 in its extreme rearward position on its axis of rotation andholds the stop arm 22 against a stop post 23 which may be an extensionof the cover plate 12.

At this point an adjusting set screw 24 is provided with check nuts forholding the same in any adjusted position. On the tubular housing 10 acoil spring 25 is provided which thrusts against the disk or head 13 andholds the housing '7 in extreme rear position. When the driver of thecar presses against the pedal 4, the initial effect of this pressure isto slide the housing '7 forwardly, thereby closing the clutch formed bythe clutch members 2 and 3. The further movement of the pedal by thefoot rotates the shaft 18 and this operates through the bevel gears 17and 16 to rotate the starting shaft 15. In this way the engine is turnedover and started.

In order to enable this mode of operation to take place, it is necessaryto have the spring 25 relatively light and to have it so related to thespring 20 that the initial pressure on the pedal will readily compressthis spring. Of course it is immaterial if a slight rotation of thepedal 4 should take place just as the clutch member 3 engages the drivenclutch member 2.

In case the engine gives a back kick instead of starting, the backwardrotation of the starting shaft 15 will rotate the pedal shaft 18 in areverse direction and bring the stop arm 22 against the stop post 23which will have the effect of pulling the casing rearwardly, therebyopening the clutch.

The presence of a driven clutch member 2 need not interfere with the useof the ordinary timing gear 26, which may be attached to the shaft justin advance of the clutch member 2.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described hereinis only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I donot wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in theclaims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claim is:

1. In a starting mechanism for starting an automobile engine, thecombination of an engine shaft having its rear end face near the driversposition, a driven clutch-memberattached to the engine shaft adjacentsaid rear end face, a foot pedal, means for mounting the foot pedal torock to and fro on an axis at right angles to the shaft, a spring forreturning the pedal after its forward rocking movement, and a drivingclutch member mounted for forward movement, located back of theengine-shaft and in longitudinal alignment with the same and movableinto engagement with the driven clutch member by force exerted upon thepedal, and means driven by the pedal for rotating the driving clutchmember thereafter.

2. In a starting mechanism for starting an automobile engine, thecombination of an engineshaft having its rear end face near the driversposition, a driven clutch member attached to the engine shaft adjacentsaid rear end face, a foot pedal, means for mounting the foot pedal torock to and fro on an axis at right angles to the shaft, a spring forreturning the pedal after its forward rocking movement, a starter shafthaving a driving clutch-member at its forward end, means for guiding thestarter shaft for forward longitudinal movement back of said rear endface and in axial alignment with the engine shaft, means associated withthe pedal and the starting shaft for enabling the forward movement ofthe pedal to move the starting shaft forward to engage the clutchmembers with each other and enabling the forward rocking of the pedalthereafter to turn the engine shaft.

3. In starting mechanism for an automobile, the combination of an enginehaving a shaft with its rear end forward of the drivers position, aclutch member carried by the rear end of the engine shaft, a foot pedal,a carriage carrying the pedal and guided to slide in a front and reardirection behind the rear end of the engine shaft, so that forwardpressure on the pedal will slide the carriage toward the engine shaft, aclutch member carried by the carriage to co-operate with the clutchmember on the engine shaft, and means actuated by the swinging movementof the pedal to rotate the driving clutch member.

4. In starting mechanism for an automobile,

the combination of a clutch member carried by the rear end of the engineshaft, a foot pedal, a carriage carrying the pedal and guided to slidein a front and rear direction behind the engine shaft, a clutch membercarried by the carriage to cooperate with the clutch member on theengine shaft, means whereby the first movement of said pedal by onesfoot operates to move the carriage forward to close the clutch, andmeans actuated so that a further movement of the pedal imparts rotarymovement to the driving clutch member, said means including springs forreturning the carriage to an extreme rear position, and for returningthe pedal to its extreme rear position on its axis of rotation.

5. In starting mechanism for an automobile, the combination of a clutchmember carried by the rear end of the engine shaft, a foot pedal, acarriage carrying the pedal and guided to slide in a front and reardirection behind the engine shaft, a clutch member carried by thecarriage to cooperate with theclutch member on the engine shaft, meanswhereby the first movement of said pedal by ones foot operates to movethe carriage forward to close the clutch, and means actuated by theswinging movement of the pedal to rotate the driving clutch member, arelatively light spring associated with the carriage and holding thesame in an extreme rear position, and a spring associated with the pedalfor holding 105 the same in its extreme rear position on its axis ofrotation.

6. In starting mechanism for an automobile, the combination of a clutchmember carried by the rear end of the engine shaft, a foot pedal acarriage carrying thepedal and guided to slide in a front and reardirection behind the engine shaft, a clutch member carried by thecarriage to cooperate with the clutch member on g the engine shaft, arelatively weak spring for 115 holding the carriage in its extreme rearposition and maintaining the clutch members out of contact, a relativelystrong spring for holding the pedal in its extreme rear position on itsaxis of rotation, said parts cooperating to enable the initial pressureon the pedal to shift the carriage forwardly to engage the clutchmembers, and the later pressure on the pedal operating to rotate theclutch member on the carriage and thereby rotate the engine shaft.

7. In starting mechanism for starting an automobile engine, thecombination of a motor having a shaft with its rear end located forwardof the drivers seat, a foot pedal, means for mounting the pedal forrotation on an axis at right an- 130 gles to the shaft, and meansassociated with the pedal whereby pressing the foot pedal effectsconnection to the engine shaft without rotation of the pedal, androtation of the pedal thereafter rotates the motor.

8. In starting mechanism for starting an automobile engine, thecombination of an engine mounted with the cranking end of its shaftterminating forward of the drivers seat, a foot pedal, means forsupporting the pedal for ro- 140 tation on an axis at right angles tothe shaft and for sliding movement toward the shaft and enablingpressure upon the pedal to slide the pedal forwardly, means foreffecting connection to the engine shaft when the pedal is slid 145forwardly so that the rotation of the pedal thereafter will rotate theshaft, said pedal having an outwardly projecting arm rigid therewith,and a fixed part for engaging said arm if the engine kicks back andcooperating with the arm to 150 ioo the engine shaft to rotate the same,a pedal mounted for rotation on said carriage on an axis extending atright angles to the axis of the starting shaft, and gears driven by therotation of the pedal on its shaft for rotating the starting shaft, saidparts cooperating so that force when first exerted upon the pedal slidesthe carriage forward to connect the starting shaft to the engine shaft,and the rocking on the axis of the pedal thereafter rotates the engineshaft.

CLIFTON R. ROCHE.

